Accident Details
The accident occurred during an aerial spraying operation on a farm. The aircraft was seen making three passes over the area before descending in an easterly direction toward a barley crop. To reach the correct operating height, the pilot had to negotiate a gentle rise that included a dam bank at the corner of the crop. A spurline, suspended over the crop and running north, was located about 40 meters beyond the dam.
A witness reported that the aircraft appeared to be in level flight and had commenced spraying when it struck the spurline, then impacted heavily with the ground and overturned, fatally injuring the pilot. The weather was reported as fine with light winds.
Factors Reported
The following factors were reported in the investigation: 1. The pilot had limited recent flying experience. 2. The pilot had limited experience on the aircraft type, particularly with regard to low-level spraying operations, prior to the accident. 3. The performance of the pilot may have been impaired by the effects of a medical condition he was suffering from. 4. The location of the spurline was difficult to see and may have been confused with an apparent powerline further along the intended flight path. 5. The aircraft was not fitted with any form of wire deflector or cutter. 6. The aircraft provided limited structural rollover protection for the pilot during the accident sequence.
Background
The pilot had arrived at the property the day before the accident to commence spraying. The property owner provided a map and briefed the pilot on the location of relevant powerlines and other obstructions. However, the pilot did not spray that day; instead, he flew the aircraft to Scone to have a minor engine problem rectified, then flew to Mudgee where the aircraft remained overnight. The next morning, the pilot returned to the area, arriving on site at about 0645 ESuT. After spraying approximately 175 acres on an adjoining farm, he began an aerial inspection of the next property to be treated but declined an offer from the property owner to accompany him in the aircraft to point out boundaries and powerlines.
The three-wire spurline ran in a northerly direction over the crop, at right angles to the flight path. It spanned 165 meters from the main powerline to the first spurline pole, located about 100 meters from a house and to the left of the flight path. Several large trees near the house provided a backdrop to the spurline pole. A strainer wire from the main powerline was positioned about 92 meters further in the direction of the intended flight path, approximately 10 meters long, and ran parallel to the spurline. The strainer wire passed over a road and was attached to a support pole one meter from the edge of the barley crop. The pilot had commenced the first swath run flying east toward distant rising ground cloaked in shadow, with the powerline foreground set against that backdrop.